[Developer102]

Hello all,

I am a new member living in the UK. I love Chrysler 300c since it came out but never had a chance to buy it and I am seriously considering to buy a used stunning crd srt design.
I know its not a V8 version which I would have preferred but still I dont mind owning a diesel one.

I knew that 300c was discontinued but what I didnt know the Chrysler stopped selling all the models in the UK.

Is it worth buy one? Are the owners happy with parts and service? Please advise.

 

[DGO]

If it's a SRT Design it must be a Gen 1. Chrysler stopped selling 300's at the end of 2014 in the UK though they're still sold in the US and Australia.

Gen 1 cars are based on an old E class Merc, the CRD has an OM642 engine and Nag1 5 speed auto transmission; these can do high mileages if treated well. Bodywork is pretty robust with rust around the wheelarches sometimes

You'll see if you have a look around the forum there are weak points on front suspension on the Gen 1 cars, which are not hard to fix if you're good with spanners or have a decent mechanic

Alternators do fail especially if oil is dropped on them (alternators are under the oil filler). There's also a swirl flap issue especially on earlier cars, parts were improved on later ones, and there's a work-around for those. As the cars get older there are oil cooler seal failures (quite a lot of work to fix).

There are parts specialists like the Custom300cshop (Link) and others, a specialist breaker (Link) and quite a lot of service parts can be had from usual parts suppliers and/or Merc or online. Fiat still act as manufacturer support though this can be patchy

The Uconnect system is rather aged now, quite a few people have done upgrades. Again you'll see what people have done if you search the forum

The cars are rather marmite, either you love them or you don't. Personally I'm on my 4rd!

Hope you have thought about the size, you'll find yourself parking in distant parts of the supermarket car park

 

[Developer102]

Thanks for your reply

Yes it is Gen 1 SRT and I love Gen 1 design. I am aware the size .

Your reply gave me alot of assurance and I am hoping to post some photos on here once I bought it .

 

[DGO]

Would be good to see. Post more details if you'd like further opinions. How many miles, what year, facelift vs non-facelift, mileage and what sort of price you're looking to pay for it.

In addition to the forum here there's a fairly active facebook group you can join too: Link

 

[Developer102]

Would be good to see. Post more details if you'd like further opinions. How many miles, what year, facelift vs non-facelift, mileage and what sort of price you're looking to pay for it.

In addition to the forum here there's a fairly active facebook group you can join too: Link

Year: 2008
Miles: Around 60,000
Price: Around 8,000
Colour: Black
How does it sound ? Hows the price?

 

[DGO]

Sounds a little pricey but that does depend on the condition and how well it has been cared for. You can have them somewhat cheaper e.g. Link (just to be clear this is nothing to do with me)

 

[devilmaycare]

Does seem pricey, even for one previous non-smoking owner and full service history.
What's the warranty like?
My 2006 model with 50K miles is only valued at £2.5 K by the insurance company.

 

[J_p1992]

Sounds pricey to me. But they are reliable cars and have a long life.

if you are more focused on design than anything i suggest picking up a crd from autotrader - regularly appear around the 3k mark, then customise appearance - aliexpress is full of chrome and carbon fiber trim bits etc for peanuts and even has srt badges etc

 

[Developer102]

Thanks for all the input guys. I myself also thought it was pricy. Will discuss this with the seller.

 

[DGO]

Good luck. Let us know how you get on

 

[devilmaycare]

If you haven't already done this, it would be worth checking the MOT history on the VOSA website. You can also get a depressing valuation from the webuyanycar website.

 

[Developer102]

How much should I offer for the car?. I am getting 5.4k on webuyanycar?

 

[Developer102]

How much should I offer for the car?. I am getting 5.4k on webuyanycar?

MOT history check looks good , few fails but not major faults

 

[devilmaycare]

6 to 7k maybe? Worth trying.

 

[Developer102]

How's the car's entertainment system? 2008 CRD STR design in particular?

 

[DGO]

Did you buy it?

Should have "Boston" on the inside of each door at the front by the door mirror. The Boston system is usually recognised as one of the best factory systems in the 300

The Uconnect "infotainment" system should have satnav (a bit old now but functional) and (I can't remember exactly) a 20 or 30gb hard disk to which you copy your music - easiest though USB stick

 

[Developer102]

Thanks sounds good.

I have not purchased it yet but will do finalising some stuff.

 

[DGO]

I have the 9 speaker Alpine "premium" system in my 2014 Gen 2; my 2009 Gen 1 SRT Design that I sold recently had the Boston system. My understanding is that our UK cars are fitted with the better version of the Boston system (there are 2 versions 6 and 8 speakers with different rated Amps). To my ears the Boston system definitely sounds better!

Copy the music across in mp3, I used EAC (Link) to copy old CDs if you have music on those. EAC has a variable bitrate function that saves a lot of space but lets you retains high quality. There's also advice on the forum around putting music in folders etc so your it's is sorted properly when you copy it across into the car.

Assuming you do buy the car check the software on the system, not too many owners update to the latest version (unfortunately that's just software and doesn't include map updates)

 

[Developer102]

Thanks for valuable info.
So is it not possible to update the maps software at all?

I am having difficulty deciding to buy the car or not.
I always loved the car whenever i saw one on the road but now its 2008 model more than 12 years old car, what i dont want is to buy and then get faults etc. The car I am interested in has been serviced regularly etc and seem like taken care of , but still it is an old car. Please advise on reliability etc and how good the ride would be ? i like quite ride. The car has done nearly 60k miles.
Thanks.

 

[DGO]

Maps are a dealer update. Search the forum you'll find that a good number of people have replaced the Uconnect with a more up to date Android unit which is relatively easy to do.

Ride on our cars is good and personally I like the general driving experience, you just seem to eat up the miles in peace and not too bad on fuel with well over 30mpg on a decent run.

The suspension's not been much changed since the beginning (strengthened on the Gen 2 cars), also remember 300's are still being built and sold at least in the US and Australia (not sure of anywhere else).

Front suspension on the Gen 1 cars is a weak point, they start to rattle and clunk. There are a number of suppliers for replacement parts that are not so expensive. Remember the car was based on an E class Mercedes so the engine is a Merc OM642 engine mated to the NAG1 5 speed box both of which are capable of enormous mileages if treated well. The bodies don't seem to suffer unduely with rust. My original 2008 is still in our family and is going strong with well over 100k miles on it now. It has only needed front suspension, two wheel sensors for the ABS (about £10 each), one new battery and an alternator in addition to basic servicing

At high mileages alternators do seem to wear out (there's an issue with the alternator being right below the oil filler - not a god combination), eventually oil cooler seals need to be replaced. Most things are well understood given the cars have been around a while.

There are a number of specialists for parts e.g. the Custom300cshop guys Link (gives you an idea of prices), a lot of routine service items can be bought online or through the usual places like ECP, batteries are ~£100 as an example

The key thing is though you'll find yourself parking away from other cars in the car park to protect your pride and joy and looking back at it every time you do!

Also drop by the facebook group if that's of interest: Link